Page 29 of Silent Menace
The officer started to respond, but her radio squawked. She paced a few steps away, then hurried back to them. “There’s been an accident with injuries a few miles away. I’m the only one close. Can you wait for Detective Thornton?”
Hailey didn’t hesitate. “Of course, Randi. Go.”
Officer Owens was already jogging to her car. “He’s on his way. I’m sorry.”
Peter couldn’t help releasing a frustrated breath. He knew the woman had made the right decision, but that didn’t mean he appreciated the delay or the lapse in police protection. What if the men came back and he couldn’t keep Hailey and Jenna safe?
Hands suddenly sweaty, he wiped them on his jeans and shot off a desperate prayer.God,I’m new atthis trusting-you thing. But I’d really be gratefulif you’d keep this woman and her little girlsafe.
After looking up and down the road, he circled the car and climbed in next to Hailey.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I’ve hardly done anything.”
“Seriously? I’d still be in that trunk if it weren’t for you.”
His gut twisted, but he tried not to show his discomfort with her gratitude. He’d only done what any decent man would have. Seeing that she’d calmed down, and cooled down, in the time she’d been in the AC, he redirected them to a more important topic. “Mind telling me what happened out here?”
She took a deep breath, then launched into her story. As she got to the point where she’d been pinned against her SUV, it was all he could do to refrain from demanding which way the perpetrators had gone so he could light out after them. They’d had too much of a head start though. He knew trying to catch up to them now would be futile, and he absolutely wasn’t going to leave Hailey and Jenna alone—or intentionally take them into danger. But those men had better hope he never got his hands on them.
“I couldn’t do anything at first because if they’d fired at me, they could have easily hit Jenna instead. But once they started rushing me toward the trunk, I fought back. Nailed one of them in the nose with my elbow. They weren’t too happy about that.” She offered him a wry smile that let him know she’d paid for her defiance but she’d also do it again in a heartbeat.
“That when they hit you?” He reached for the spot but stopped short of actually touching it.
“The other one backhanded me with his gun.” She shrugged, but he suspected it was more of a coping mechanism than true nonchalance. “I knew there was little chance I’d succeed against two armed men, but I wasn’t about to get kidnapped or murdered without a fight. The blow knocked me off-balance though. Before I got my bearings, they shoved me inside and slammed the trunk.”
“And then?”
“I tried to find an emergency release, but it’d been cut out. Then the engine started. But we didn’t go anywhere. We moved like they were lining up a parking spot, then they stopped, and the engine shut off again. Then I heard another engine start, and I almost panicked, thinking they were taking off with Jenna.” She hugged her daughter close. “But after the sound of the engine faded away, I could still hear her screaming. I knew she was still here somewhere, but I couldn’t get to her, and I didn’t know if she was hurt or if the temperature in the SUV would kill her before someone found us. I’m so glad you got here in time. Thank you.” A tear leaked from the corner of her eye—the first she’d shed since he found her.
“Good thing you had the windows down.”
“I didn’t.” Her eyes turned to the Explorer.
“They were down when I arrived.”
She shook her head. “I’d been driving with the AC on and windows up. When the collision occurred, the engine shut off automatically. I didn’t touch the windows.”
“Your attackers must have lowered them, then.” They hadn’t wanted to hurt Jenna, he realized. And with that realization came another. “But they essentially left you in an oven.” The smaller car had been left in partial sun with none of its windows so much as cracked. Killing Hailey might not have been on their agenda, but they’d been more than willing to risk it.
16
Hailey feltthe blood drainfrom her face. She could have died in that trunk. True, during the ordeal, she’d known the men could kill her at any moment. Up till now, however, she’d been too concerned about Jenna’s safety to consider how close she herself had probably come to heatstroke.Thank you,God,for sending Peter when youdid.
“Earlier, you said they threatened you. Do you remember their exact words?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “When I was pinned against my SUV, the guy with the knife said, ‘You’re not wanted here. Get out of Kincaid, or you will regret it.’”
“‘Get out of Kincaid,’” he repeated. “And you have no idea why?”
“Nothing that makes sense.” Should she mention the possibility that someone had a grudge against her because of Wesley? That was the best theory she had, but such dramatic escalation felt off. Slashing her tires or vandalizing her house was one thing. Even the office break-in could perhaps be a ploy to ruin what reputation she had left—though that felt like a stretch. Being willing to risk her death to make sure they wouldn’t have to seeher around town? It just didn’t ring true. This was Kincaid, for crying out loud.
Before she could decide, another vehicle rounded the bend from the direction of town, interrupting her line of thought. Though it was unmarked and the driver’s identity was obscured by the late-afternoon sun glinting off the windshield, she could see flashing lights inside. That had to be Eric. Still, Hailey’s and Peter’s eyes remained riveted to the mirrors as the car eased into the spot Randi had vacated. When her cousin’s fiancé stepped from the vehicle a moment later, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Jenna had fallen asleep in her arms, and Hailey couldn’t bear to let her go yet. Instead, she pushed the door open but remained seated as Eric approached. Peter, however, exited the car and circled to join them on her side of the vehicle.
“Thanks for coming, Eric,” she said when he reached them.
